P-47D Question

[SoarinSukhoi]

What exactly is part B18 in Tamiya's P-47D? It looks like a supercharger, but it's on the bottom and at the rear of the plane. Does anyone have a good color picture of it?

[Jennings]

That is the supercharger. The P-47 had a very complicated ducting setup for the induction/supercharging system.

[SoarinSukhoi]

So I see...

[mawz]

To be exact, that's the Turbosupercharger (Turbocharger in today's parlance). It's a rather unique configuration (IIRC the only operational single-engined fighter with both a radial and a turbosuperchanger) and the reason for the rather portly look of the Jug.

[SoarinSukhoi]

The supercharger looks the same as the one used by the P-38 and apparently it uses a turbo-supercharger too.

[mawz]

The supercharger looks the same as the one used by the P-38 and apparently it uses a turbo-supercharger too.

The P-38 does indeed have a Turbo, as that was the intended combination for the Allison V1710, (the P-39 was also supposed to be equipped, but it was deleted from Production examples) the USAAC had preferred Turbochargers to Superchargers prior to WW2 and had therefore encouraged the development of their preferred application and discouraged Allison from developing a good supercharger (which the V1710 turned out to badly need to get the needed high-altitude performance). Since the USAAC also preferred inline engines for its fighters, the P-47 is doubly unusual in having a radial (which the USAAC disliked for fighters) and a Turbo (which was too big for most fighters).

[SoarinSukhoi]

I'm not that familiar with fighters after the war, but it does seem like the war made an impact since most of the props after the war used radial engines.

[mawz]

I'm not that familiar with fighters after the war, but it does seem like the war made an impact since most of the props after the war used radial engines.

I'm not aware of a single example introduced post-war into the USAF with a radial aside from the Skyraider (which was a Navy attack design from late WW2 inherited by the USAF after Korea, and the Navy was as pro-Radial for fighters as the USAAC was pro-inline). The main USAF (1947-on) piston fighters were the P-51D/K/H and the F-82, with the P-47 being retired fast enough that a lack of available stocks meant that the F-51D was used in Korea for the ground-attack mission the F-47 was better suited to.

The Navy used piston fighters longer and more extensively post-war due to the inherent problems with 1st generation jest operating off carriers and they did prefer radials, and mostly stuck to the Corsair and Bearcat post-war for combat slots until jets and Skyraiders replaced them in Navy & Marine service.

[stevehnz]

After seeing the diagram for the P-47 ducting that Soaring Sukhoi posted, I can well see why the Jug was so chubby. Thats the best & easiest to follow diagram of it I've seen. Thanks SS.

Steve.